Gm Global Technolgoy Operations, Inc.

Charles H Smale

Brian Paul King

James A Pyne, Jr

A gas turbine engine has a metal engine block which houses interconnected ceramic duct components defining the gas flow path between a combustor and turbine stages of a two spool gas turbine engine. The ceramic duct components are coupled to the engine block by support cages that accommodate thermal expansion of the duct components to prevent excessive stress levels within the ceramic components throughout a wide range of turbine engine operating conditions.

Ceramic duct system for turbine engine

A variable geometry gas turbine has an array of ceramic composition vanes positioned by an actuating ring coupled through a plurality of circumferentially spaced turbine vane levers to the outer end of a metallic vane drive shaft at each of the ceramic vanes. Each of the ceramic vanes has an end slot of bow tie configuration including flared end segments and a center slot therebetween. Each of the vane drive shafts has a cross head with ends thereof spaced with respect to the sides of the end slot to define clearance for free expansion of the cross head with respect to the vane and the cross head being configured to uniformly distribute drive loads across bearing surfaces of the vane slot.

Ceramic vane drive joint

A gas turbine engine has a turbine shroud and back seal plate to define a gas flow passage across turbine rotor blades. A conically shaped turbine support plate for the shroud and back seal plate has a central hub fixedly secured to a bearing mount on the inboard face of a scroll of a compressor for supplying air to a turbine combustor. The conical turbine support plate permits a first predetermined thermal excursion of the shroud and back seal plate to minimize gas leakage between the turbine blades and the turbine shroud components. A plurality of restrictor units are fixedly secured on the scroll and extend axially therefrom to locate a cap portion thereon in close spaced relationship to the turbine support plate to limit expansion of the turbine shroud components with respect to the rotor blades to prevent interference therebetween under elevated temperature conditions.

Turbine support structure

An outer ceramic shroud for a gas turbine engine includes a plurality of ceramic ring members each housing a rotating blade row of the turbine and further including ceramic stator vane stages located alternately between each of the ring members and having a radially outer rim portion thereon axially aligned with the ring members. The ring members and rims have tongue and groove means thereon for interconnection thereof into a continuous outer high temperature ceramic shroud maintained in axially assembled relationship by a pressure loaded piston member for applying a load to the shroud components during engine operation as a direct function of the discharge pressure of the engine compressor and a supplemental spring to load the shroud components when the discharge pressure drops, thereby to maintain the operative position of stator vane stages.

Ceramic turbine structures

In a regenerative type gas turbine application, a mounting apparatus for a recuperator to support the recuperator between the relatively stationary end walls of a gas turbine housing while simultaneously permitting movement of the recuperator in plural directions with respect to the walls caused by thermal expansion.

Recuperative mounting

An exhaust duct for a turbofan aircraft engine includes a bulbous inner cone which blocks direct sight of the turbine through the duct. Ram air from the fan is caught by scoops and conveyed from a plenum into the double outer wall of the exhaust duct and through hollow struts to the inner cone. Circumferential outlets for film cooling air are distributed axially of the surface of the outer and inner walls. Also, film cooling air is discharged from the struts to cool the rear part of the struts which are visible from without the engine. Direct radiation from within the cone to the outside is blocked by ribs extending into the inside of the inner cone immediately upstream of the cooling air outlets.

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Indianapolis, IN, United States of America

Charles H Smale